Explosive growth in electric cooperative membership and the need to upgrade aging buildings are driving co-ops across the country to renovate or build new headquarters and other facilities.

Delaware Electric Cooperative was “busting at the seams” when it launched a renovation of its Greenwood headquarters that is expected to wrap up by the fall of 2026, Chief Operating Officer Dwayne Street said.

In the last 15 years, Delaware Electric’s meter count grew by 45% while employee headcount jumped 36%. The distribution co-op, which serves about 115,000 consumer-members, had been making do by chopping up conference rooms to add office spaces.

“Our boardroom was so small that we had senior staff just sitting along the walls. They didn't really have the space for any kind of table area to sit,” Street said.

The renovation will add space for offices, board meetings and staff gatherings. Delaware EC is also building a combined transformer and meter shop, expanded truck bays and an improved mechanic shop with heavy-duty truck lifts.

“I think that'll play a big factor into attracting new mechanics,” said Herb Dennis, Delaware Electric’s manager of property and fleet. “It'll be much more efficient.”

The Delaware Electric project is part of a broader trend among the nation’s co-ops.

Since 2019, there’s been a “remarkable increase” in new facility needs as more co-ops entered the broadband space and existing buildings became crowded from growth in their electric businesses, said Paige Bowers, senior marketing coordinator for Cooperative Building Solutions, a plan, design and build company exclusively for electric cooperatives and utility providers.

New buildings or renovations can enhance member service and employee satisfaction while making operations more efficient, co-ops say.

‘Generational’ investments

Although new buildings are a big investment, the projects are “generational,” said Mike Fuller, president and CEO of Berkeley Electric Cooperative in South Carolina.

The co-op—the largest in the state—moved into a new headquarters in 2022. The previous building had been in use since just after the Moncks Corner-based co-op’s founding in 1940 and lacked adequate office, meeting and storage space.

The project, which finished ahead of schedule and under budget, consolidated at least seven employee populations across four locations into one site—eliminating redundancies from operating multiple offices and saving time and money.

“It just creates efficiency because we're all here together,” Fuller said.

In addition, the new headquarters is designed to withstand up to a Category 3 hurricane. Previously, a Category 1 storm would force the co-op to relocate its call center and other offices. It also has modern warehousing that can help the co-op restore power more quickly during outages.

But the project’s benefits extend beyond the financial and operational.

Having so many functions and personnel in the same space is “a benefit just from a cultural perspective,” Fuller explained.

Enclosed truck bays at the new facility have also hosted a range of events, including annual meetings, employee appreciation days, oyster roasts, an electric vehicle show and a statewide energy panel.

“This building will certainly outlast all of us,” Fuller said. “I've always tried to frame it as an investment into the future. It's not just a place to house employees. It's going to make us efficient. It’s going to make us better.”

The need for more space and bringing employees together for efficiency gains also drove Whitewater Valley REMC to build a new headquarters in 2024. The Liberty, Indiana-based co-op’s prior facility had been in use since the 1950s, and its employees previously were split between two buildings and shared small work areas.

The new building houses all of Whitewater Valley’s employees, has a hardened storm shelter and dispatch center, warehouse, 12 vehicle bays and a multipurpose room that can serve as a board room, all-employees meeting room or be split into two training/meeting rooms. All materials, including fuel, are now on-site in one location and behind secure fencing.

In a further benefit for members, the new headquarters has a drive-thru where they can pay bills and conduct other business.

“The members love it, especially when the weather does not cooperate,” said Melody Lynch, chief operating officer of Whitewater Valley REMC.

New buildings also allow co-ops to better integrate their electric and broadband businesses. Trenton, Tennessee-based Gibson EMC’s new operations center houses both its electric and broadband crews and provides a meeting space.

In recent years, the co-op added a new member service center in Clinton, Kentucky, that accommodates both its electric and fiber teams and is better located to serve its customers in that state.

“Housing employees together has helped foster better communication and camaraderie among the work groups,” President and CEO Dan Rodamaker said. “Now, our electric and broadband employees can work side by side to meet our members’ needs.”

Do your homework, do it for the members

If co-ops are considering a building update, they should be thoughtful about their member and staff needs and look at what other co-ops are doing, Fuller and Lynch recommended.

“Take your time and do your homework,” Lynch said. “We had a facility committee that was made up of board members and staff members. We toured other recently built cooperatives to find out what they would do the same and what they would have changed in their project.”

Finding good partners, including design firms and vendors, is also key.

“We recommend working with architects and contractors who understand the electric and broadband businesses as well as the cooperative business model,” Rodamaker said.

Above all, building projects must be in the interest of better service.

"Focus on functionality and technology first,” said Doug Tracy, president and CEO of Cuivre River Electric, which opened a new headquarters in Troy, Missouri, in 2020. “Aesthetics are important, but the true value comes from a building that allows you to serve your members better and more efficiently.”

Delaware EC’s Street echoed that advice. “It’s got to be for the members,” he said. “Once you understand that, everything else gets a lot easier.”